Historic Barkcamp Barn Rededicated
BELMONT – A historic antique barn at Barkcamp State Park was rededicated at a ceremony on May 18 after undergoing refurbishment.
The newly reopened barn features a refurbished interior with new exhibits on 19th century farming equipment. The barn is open from Memorial Day to Labor Day 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday. The barn is located near Camp C in the park.
The ceremony featured three speakers. The first was Mary Mertz, the director of Ohio Department of Natural Resources. Mertz discussed how the project is part of the larger national movement to fixup historic sites ahead of the 250th Anniversary of America.
The second speaker, Division of Parks and Watercraft Chief Glen Cobb, made special mention of Barkcamp Manager Jason Carpenter for his help in planning and executing the project. He also acknowledged the hard work and dedication of all the maintenance workers, naturalists and law enforcement officers that makes running the park system possible.
The final speaker was ODNR Historical Resources Manager Michael Verris. Verris talked about his experience working on the refurbishment project. “Having people who cared about this space and talked about this space for so many years made this a lot easier and fun to me.”
The barn sits on a piece of land that was once a farm owned by Solomon Bentley. Bentley was a veteran of the War of 1812 and built the barn in the mid 1800’s. His chief income sources were raspberries, strawberries and apples. Bentley was noted for his apples. He even developed an apple variety known as the Bentley Sweet which was sold as far east as Baltimore.
The farm remained in Bentley family hands until 1945, when they sold it to the Ramsay family. Ten years later, Barkcamp was established. Today, the barn is the only remnant of the farm.
The barn also features the historically significant artwork of Harley Warrick.
Warrick, a native of Belmont County, spent 55 years painting and retouching barns with the famous Mail Pouch Tobacco logo. Over the first 20 years he averaged three barns a day, six days a week. Warrick painted 20,000 barns over the course of his career. This barn is especially significant as it was the last he ever worked on. Warrick touched up the Antique Barn sign one month before he passed away in 2000.
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